Improvement in bee-hives



' the hive.

tlritrfd gettata @tutti otitis.

Letters Patent No. 97,067, dated November 23, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom. 'it may concern Be it known that I, W. A. ELAM, of Mila-n,in the county of Gibson, and- State of' Tennessee, have invented a newand useful Improvement in Bee-Hives; and I do herebydeclare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which willenableothers skilled in the art to make and use the same, ret`` erencebeing had to the accompanying drawing, forming apart ot' thisspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in bee-hives, and consists in afunnel-shaped tube, placed at the entrance of the hive, with its smallerend fitted thereto.

The object ot' this device is to exclude moths, nies, and other insectstrom a ready entrance into the hive.

I will now proceed to give a general description of' a bec-hive topromote a better understanding of the mode in which my inventionoperates in connection therewith.

In the accompanying drawing- -Fgure l'represents a vertical section ofthe hive through the line a; a: of tig. 2.

Figure is a vertical section through the line 3') y 0f iig. 1.

ibigurc 3 is a longitudinal section of the swarnlingtube.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts. y

A is the.hive, which is placed on legs B, and made in two parts, orsections, marked C and D.

E represents honey-combtrames, (more or less in numbing) which hangvertically in the lower-part C of These .trames are separated from eachother, and from thc sides and bottoni of the hive, as seen inthe-drawing.

F represents boxes in the upper portionl D of the hive.

These boxes are placed directly over the frames E, with suitableorifices on their under sides for the entrance of the bees. They areenclosed by the upper portion D, which lifts cti' from C.

'G is a cover over the top ot' the frames E, with apertures for allowingthe bees to pass through, but which are provided with sliding covers, sothat the becs may be confined below when desired.

H is the bee-entrance tothe hive. This consists of a funnel-shaped tube,with a sholt section of tube, I,

surrounding the flaring end with a reverse cone, J, which gives entranceinto the chamberK. This arrangement is fol-the purpose ofpreventingmot-hs and insects from entering the hive.

In crawling down the hive and on to the tube H, seeking for thebee-entrance, the lnoths or insects reach the chamber K, instead of theentrance. Experiei'xce has proved that this device is a perfectprotection tothe bees against moths and other insects.

L is thefswarmingtube, by which the hivle. of bees is connected with anempty hive, when it is discovered that the bees are about to swarm. Bymaking this connection, and closing the bee-entrance to the workvinghive until the bees have got a start in the empty hive, and then openingthe bee-entrance, it will be found that there are two swarms ot' bees,without any handling or further trouble.

This hive may be. swung in a frame, instead of'being supported on legs,as represented in the drawing.

'Ihe honey-boxes F have each a series of hanging frames, arranged likethose in the lower part of the hive, so that the comb cannot he joinedtogether, and so that any one frame in either section ot' the hive maybe removed without breaking a cell ofthe honey.

It will thus be seen that some very essential points are gained by thismode ot' construction. The hive is entirely closed on the bottom. Mothsand insects are prevented from entering. Ample provision -is made t'orfacilitating the swarming ot' the bees, without danger of loss or ofbeing stung, and any one of the twenty or thirty frameswhich the`full-sized hivewill contain may be removed, with the honey, with thegreatest ease,lwithout disturbing the rest and without breaking thehoney-cells.

Having thus described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is y Ahive-,provided with a compound tube, having an inner elongated channelfor the entrance otthe bees, and a surrounding chamber, K, to receiveand stop the insects, as'they crawl forward from the outside ot' thehive, all as shown land described.

W. A. ELAM.

Witnesses:

' E. H. WlLLIAMs,

H. L. DIcxINsoN.

